In light of the jury verdict in Apple vs. Samsung, the one-liners and jokes flew back and forth. One in particular, by Dan Frakes, has been copied and pasted all over the web, and it goes like this: "When the iPhone debuted, it was widely criticized for having no buttons/keys. Now people think the iPhone's design is 'obvious'." This is a very common trend in this entire debate that saddens me to no end: the iPhone is being compared to simple feature phones, while in fact, it should be compared to its true predecessor: the PDA. PDAs have always done with few buttons.

Notice that Asian mobile manufactures are 'scared' of this verdict and the ramifications including future Apple patent lawsuits. So if Android becomes 'unsafe', where do they turn?

Well, of course, Windows mobile. However, Windows mobile is currently a distant third compared to Android and iOS. Consumers want phones to be like the iPhone and iOS which means the current phones even with Android that 'infringes' patents. If Windows mobile does not gain ground, what is left? Yes, Apple only. That then leads to a monopoly. Reading the Wiki article you will see the other important features of monopolization and its effects on markets.

Again, please look at history. No one knew that Standard Oil would become a monopoly or when exactly. No one knew that AT&T would become a monopoly or when exactly. No one in the 1970's when Microsoft was founded knew that within 25 years, they would hold a monopoly in the OS on PC's and that they would subsequently be sued by the DOJ for predatory monopolistic practices.

But, those in the field of economics learn from studying such case studies and learn to predict the probability of such things happening again with other companies in other markets. That is all I, and others far smarter than myself, are doing with regards to Apple. Many of us do not like what we are seeing at all.

FUD my a*s! I am not trying to sell you something. This isn't a team sport for me where I want to have my team win and your team lose. This isn't a 'fanboy' my genitals are bigger than your genitals game.

Monopolies are bad for markets, consumers, innovation, invention, etc. It will be no more advantageous for all of us to have Apple in the monopoly position in the 'post PC world' any more than it was to have Microsoft in the monopoly position in the desktop world of the 1990's and early 2000's.

One reason I don't post very often on forums is that real thinking and discussion does require an awful lot of words. To reduce it to pithy sound-bytes, tweets, and short Facebook comments dumbs down intellectual discourse.